Tech Today: Blogosphere Takes on Twitter Censorship

A shop in Tahrir Square is spray painted with the word Twitter after the government shut off internet access on February 4, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt.

Reactions to Twitter Censorship Announcement: Twitter’s announced yesterday that it now has the ability to censor content on a country-by-country basis.

Wondering if the move indicated an eventual Twitter presence in China, PandoDaily writes, “I’m sure Mao would be pleased.” The Guardian, meanwhile, asks if the new system could be used in the U.K. to block tweets exposing information hidden by local laws concerning certain celebrities.

MarketingLand talks to Twitter employees who stress that censorship will occur on a case by case basis and that no online filters will be used.

The Wall Street Journal notes that the censorship option will protect any future international expansion efforts where the company would have to comply with local law at the risk of its employees facing prosecution. [Twitter Blog, PandoDaily, Guardian, MarketingLand, WSJ]

Apple CEO Responds to New York Times Expose: Apple CEO Tim Cook sent out a lengthy email to employees yesterday saying the the company cares about “every worker in our worldwide supply chain.” The move comes after a New York Times story that exposed grim working conditions in the factories of Apple suppliers. [9to5Mac, The Verge]

Lawmakers Want Answers on Google Privacy Policy: A bipartisan group of House lawmakers asked the search giant for more information on its new privacy policy introduced earlier in the week. The lawmakers demanded answers on how the information will be stored and whether or not there are protections in place for children. [WSJ]

Apple Back on Top with Smartphones: Apple topped Samsung last quarter in global smartphone shipments. The iPhone maker shipped 37 million smartphones in the three month period ended Dec. 31 while Samsung shipped 36.5 million. [Bloomberg, BoyGeniusReport]